Category: coffee

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Relaxing Coffee

basement in Java U

There is a real nice cafe, Java U, on Praed Street, it’s a place I either visit just after I arrive at Paddington or whilst waiting for a train from Paddington.

Java U on Praed Street close to Paddington

There is always a lovely warm welcome and the coffee is excellent.

FLat White from Java U

There isn’t a huge amount of room inside on the main floor, but there is a basement which has a lot more space.

The last time I was in London was at the beginning of March, so I’ve not been since then. I am looking forward to the time I can go back and have a nice coffee.

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Quick Coffee Number One

With the new imminent lockdown coming on Thursday I took the the time and the opportunity to pop out to Weston town centre to do some shopping.

Wanting a coffee, I popped to one of my favourite regular haunts for coffee in Weston which is Coffee #1.

I first bumped into the Coffee #1 chain in Monmouth one lunch time a fair few years ago now. I thought at the time it was an independent, didn’t realise it was a chain.

Their branch in Weston opened shortly after that visit to Monmouth, so it became a place to go for coffee after shopping or after a walk along the seafront.

I ordered my flat white and they also had a vegan scone with cream (I know) and jam for half price, so I decided to have a coffee and a scone.

The scone was somewhat heavy, but I still enjoyed it.

The coffee was excellent, smooth milk and great tasting coffee. I was slightly disappointed that I had finished it, I think I might have had another one.

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Piaggio Coffee

I was at a conference at The Brewery in London many years ago now, and it was a great conference. However the coffee was awful, I don’t think I have ever had decent coffee at a conference.

What was great about this conference though was outside the venue was a coffee cart based in the back of a Piaggio van. It had a full espresso machine in there.

Piaggio Coffee

It was great coffee and nice to get out from the venue during the breaks as well.

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Lidl Coffee Ice Cream

Lidl Coffee Ice Cream

As part of their Flavours of Italy week Lidl were selling a small 99p tub of Coffee Ice Cream. In previous Italy weeks we have bought these tubs, so kind of knew what to expect.

They are not huge tubs, but what you get is a tasty creamy coffee ice cream, with a little chocolate in there as well.

We also like the amaretto tub and the lemon sorbet one is nice too.

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222

I was actually going to have a flat white at Caffe Nero in Cheltenham, but it was way too busy.

Near enough next door is 222 and it looked rather nice inside.

There are wooden floors, wood on the walls and comfortable seating.

We went upstairs and due to social distancing measure it wasn’t as cosy as I thought it could be, but still a nice environment, with more wood and industrial lighting.

A warm friendly welcome and I ordered my Flat White.  This was served promptly.

The coffee was great, good tasting coffee with the right feel and texture of a flat white.

I don’t go to Cheltenham very often, even less now with lockdown restrictions, so I think it might be sometime before I get back to have another coffee at 222.

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Time to visit the Green Coffee Machine again

Green Coffee Machine

The last visit to the Green Coffee Machine in Cheltenham was back in 2013 in my final month of working at Gloucestershire College. That previous visit was also my first visit to the Green Coffee Machine. I really enjoyed the coffee and toast I had back then.

Overall I did quite like the atmosphere, the service was excellent, the coffee was great, if you don’t mind a slighty confused design and decor and avoid the toast, then it’s a really nice place to spend time drinking coffee.

Having changed jobs and no longer working regularly in Cheltenham, I didn’t think I would ever have coffee at the Green Coffee Machine again.

So it was nice the other day when I was in Cheltenham and I had to kill time before my train, I went for a coffee at the Green Coffee Machine. I wasn’t sure if it was still going to be there, as it had been a fair few years and independent coffee shops don’t always survive. So it was nice to see that it was still open and serving coffee.

It was a slightly different experience to my last one, mainly as Covid-19 had changed how they operate and the layout of the place.

There was a warm and friendly welcome from the staff. I ordered my coffee, once it was made I sat at a table. The coffee was excellent and just what I needed. I was slightly disappointed that even though I was drinking in, it was served in a paper cup. Not sure if this was standard policy, or that it was only an hour until closing time. If I am drinking in, I would like a proper cup for my coffee please.

I think the decor has improved considerably as well, so was a pleasant place to drink coffee.

I don’t know if it will be back, but I certainly will  make the effort the next time I am in Cheltenham to have another coffee at the Green Coffee Machine.

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Sorry that’s not a flat white!

I was a little disappointed today.

We were visiting the VUE cinema at Cribbs Causeway, to see a film. I thought I would like a coffee, and I could see the Lavazza brand, so I asked if they could do me a flat white? They said yes.

However as I watched them make it I was not impressed.

They did the espresso coffee and then topped it off with hot water and finished with some cold milk.

Sorry that’s not a flat white!

I did reject it and they tried again., this time they managed with a little guidance from me, get it right.

I did actually quite enjoy the coffee, however if I hadn’t watched them make it I would have been very disappointed. The fact it was quite expensive at £3.49, would have made me even more disappointed if I didn’t get what I ordered and paid for.

I shouldn’t be too surprised, I am always a bit wary of cinema food and drink. It’s usually overpriced and often not very good.

Next time, have coffee before I get to the cinema.

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Flat White at Chatterton’s

I went to the my office in Bristol, the first time since March that I’ve been in the office, actually been anywhere for work apart from my desk in the house.

I did think about catching the train, but in the end drove to Bristol, parked and walked the rest of the way to the office. It was nice and sunny so was rather pleasant. It was an easy drive into Bristol and there was minimal traffic. Very few people around as well, unlike when I have walked to the office before.

I stopped for coffee at Chatterton’s Café, it’s right next door to our office, almost too close when I was working in the office pre-lockdown, as I quite liked a walk before sitting down and doing some work as I enjoyed my coffee.

I was looking forward to sitting down and having a coffee, however it was takeaway only and they were serving through their kitchen window. Nice coffee though.

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Great views and great coffee

Clifton Suspension Bridge

Meeting up with family near to the Clifton Suspension Bridge, I really did fancy a coffee.

Up on the hill overlooking the bridge is the Clifton Observatory. A former mill, built in 1766, was damaged by fire just eleven years later and lay derelict for over fifty years until, an artist by the name of William West rented it as a studio. West installed telescopes and a camera obscura, which were used by artists of the Bristol School to draw the Avon Gorge and Leigh Woods on the opposite side.

Clifton Observatory

I’ve not been to the cafe in the Clifton Observatory before, but it looked like table service was off limits, due to Coivd-19, but they were doing a takeaway service.

They served a range of coffees, which was nice, so I went with my usual choice of a flat white.

This was served with a smile and a contactless payment later I was handed my coffee. The flavour of the coffee was excellent and the milk velvety and smooth as it should be. Really excellent coffee.

Great friendly service and the coffee was delicious.

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French Tassimo

At the end of July we went on an Eurocamp holiday in France. Though I wanted to take my Tassimo coffee machine, I was overruled so we took a cafetière that worked well.

However when visiting French supermarkets, as well as the campsite shop I was intrigued to see the different Tassimo offerings available.

Over the last year or so, Tassimo in the UK only appears to offer either pods for espresso or really large mugs of coffee.

So it was interesting to see what you could get in France. They had a much wider range of espresso coffees, but they also had a range of longer coffees, or café long.

In the end I did buy two packs of café long pods, Classique…

…and Intense.

I couldn’t try them whilst on holiday, but had one when I got home and really enjoyed it.

I thought I might be able to order these (and other) pods from the Tassimo French website. 

Going through the site though, it looks like they will only deliver to French addresses… which is a pity.

So I will need to ration my consumption of these café long pods, though they won’t last nearly long enough until I get back to France.